Robin Denselow Friday September 5, 2003 The Guardian This is the one of the finest and most unusual live albums ever released: the record of a remarkable concert held in the Sahara that attracted some of the best-known names in Malian music, along with nomadic tribesmen and a handful of western bands. The performers may have been wildly diverse, but there is an unexpected cohesion to the music, with constant reminders of the links between the Sahara and the Mississippi. Ali Farka Toure, the best-known exponent of desert blues, played a rousing set but his prodigy Afel Bocoum sounds even better, adding rapid-fire guitar work to the hypnotic riffs of his musicians and singers. Then there's the wailing, chugging R&B of the sometimes rebellious Tinariwen tribesmen, and the electric-guitar blues of Mauritania's Sedoum Ehl Aida. Mali's greatest diva, Oumou Sangare, gives a powerful performance, and there are strong vocals from Django, teamed up with the French band Lo'Jo. And in the middle of all that, a fine drifting blues from Robert Plant, given an Arabic edge thanks to the guitar work of Justin Adams. Brilliant.
Also on DVD.
CD ONLY AVAILABLE FROM WRASSE RECORDS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:-
JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, GREECE, SPAIN, PORTUGAL, SCANDINAVIA AND SOUTH AFRICA.